Rotary engine.



R. P. MATTHEWS.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 11, 1914.

1 ,1 84,1 14. Patented May 23, 1916.

ROBERT P. MATTHEWS, F SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

ROTARY EN Rotary Engines, of which'the following is a specification.

This invention relates to rotary engines, and has for its principal object to provide a device of this character in which the engine is kept more cool than has heretofore been known in the art, by reason of the fact that the combustion chamber is entirely separate from the .compression chamber.

Other objects will appear as the invention is more fully described and explained hereinafter, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end elevation of my device with'certain parts broken.

away. Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation taken upon the line w-w of Fig. 1.; Fig. 3 is an end elevation showing the opposite end from that shown in Fig. 1.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 1 designates a stationary outer casing which is supported upon a shaft. 2, the said shaft being supported in bearing frames 3. Secured to the shaft 2 are rotors 4 and 5, the former being in the explosion chamber 4 and the latter in thecompression chamber 5 of the casing 1. The rotors 4 and 5 have outstanding vanes 6 and 7, respectively, which fit the chambers 4 and 5 closely, and both of the .said rotors 4 and 5 have depressed ports 8 and 9, respectively, which communicate with the portlO in the separating wall 1 of the casing 1. The port 8, when in proper posi tion, also communicates with the exhaust port 11. Abutments 12 and 13 pass through opposite sides of the outer casing 1, the former closing the space between the rotor 4 and the casing 1, and the latter between the rotor 5 and the casing 1. The abutments 12 and'13 are timed and actuated by cams 15 and 14 respectively, the said cams being secured to opposite ends of the shaft 2. A spark plug 16 penetrates the casing 1 into the explosion chamber 4 and is connected to a battery 17 by a wire 18. Another wire 19 connects said plug to a spring member 20, which is secured to a bracket 21, which is in turn secured to the casing 1. A tim- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 23, 1916.

Application filed July 11, 1914. Serial no. 850,327.

ing rod 22 passes through the bracket 21 and is held in place bya collar 22, and a spring 22 which is secured at its lower end to the rod 22. A wire 23 connects the rod 22 to the battery 17 and the rod 22 is raised by a lug 24 on the cam 15, the said' cam 15 and lug24, constituting a compound cam thereby making a contact between the spring member 21 and the rod 22, which contact closes the circuit of the Y .plug and produces a spark which ignites the charge of gas in the combustion chamber. Apipe 25 supplies gas to the compression chamber 5*, the amount of gas supplied being controlled by a centrifugal ball governor 26 of usual type, the said governor being belted by a belt 27 to a pulley 28 on shaft 2.

The operation of my device is as follows: The shaft 25, rotors 4 and 5, together with cams 14 and 15 are rotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1. As the vane 7 approaches the abutment 13, the cam 14 withdraws the said valve from within the path of' the approaching vane and again closes the abutment after the vane has passed. After the abutment 13 has been closed a partial vacuum is created between the s'aidabutment and the moving vane 7. As the vane passes the gas inlet 25 the gas is sucked in behind the said vane during nearly an entire revolution of the said rotors, and as the and between the said vane and the abutment 13 takes place. When the port 10 is uncovered by the rotors 4 and 5 this gasrushes through the said port into the combustion chamber 4 between the abutment 12 and the vane 6. As soon as the port 10 is again closed by the rotors 4 and 5 the charge is fired by means of the spark plug 16 and timing device already described. Expansion of the exploded charge takes place until the depression 8 in the rotor 4 uncovers the exhaust port 11, through which the burnt gas escapes. '-At this point the abutment 12 is withdrawn by the cam 15 to allow the vane 6 to pass, after which it is again closed by the same means. The rotor 4 is now in position to. receive a second charge of gas and start upon another cycle. 7 It will be understood from the foregoing that the compression of the gas has taken place entirely within the chamber 5 while the explosion has occurred within the chamber 4 thereby separating entirely the operation of combustion from the operation of compression, and that the heat generated by the compression of the gas in the compres- I the wall 1*.

While I have shown and described a particular form of embodiment of my invention, I am aware that many minor changes in the. construction thereof will readily suggest themselves to others skilled in the art and I therefore desire to avoid being limited to the exact form shown and described, except as pointed out in the appended claim.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is- In a rotary engine of the type having a pair of similar circular rotors arranged in spaced parallel relation to each other on a shaft and having ,an outstanding radial vane on each rotor and at an angle with each other, a housing which incloses each rotor and separates them completely except for one communication port, one of said rotors and its housing compartments being used exclusively for the compression of a charge of gas and the other rotor being used exclusively as a combustion chamber, whereby the operations of compression and combustion are entirely separate, and a fuel controlling abutment for each rotor, the combination of a compound cam on the said shaft, one part of said cam for. inserting into and withdrawing the said abutment from within the path of said vane in the combustion compartment, the other part actuating the firing timing mechanism of the engine.

\ ROBERT P. -MATTHEWS.

IVitnesses EMMA KRoGER, Fnnn P. 'GORIN. 

